Time switch



Oct. 27, 1942. v, s H 2,300,020

TIME SWITCH Filed May 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l //5 lea TZSm/T/v,

Oct. 27, 1942.

L. V. SMITH TIME SWITCH Filed May 26, 1941 p- Y 30 la? 1 I t 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lea V: 5/77/771 Patented Oct. 27, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE T ME SWITCH Leo V. Smith, South Tacoma, Wash.

Application May 26, 1941, Serial No. 395,293

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a time switch for the control of an electric circuit, and the primary object of the invention is the provision of a device for closing or completing an electric circuit of a radio receiver or some other electrical device at a selected time and which may be easily and quickly adjusted, so that the time in which the circuit will be closed may be varied and consists of a compact, efficient and durable construction and may be manufactured and sold at a low cost.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to he following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation illustrating an automatic control device constructed in accordance with my invention and showing the application thereof to a fragmentary portion of a radio receiver cabinet.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view illustrating the automatic control device, and taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevation, partly in section, illustrating an overrunning clutch.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatical view illustrating the wiring diagram of the present invention, and showing a portion of an electric circuit of a radio receiver,

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates diagrammatically a radio receiver unit and B the power supply circuit therefor, and I2 a hand volume and power control switch. The terminal 1 of the receiver unit 5 is connected to the conductor 8 of the power supply circuit by a conductor 9. The terminal III of the receiver unit has the terminal ll of the hand volume and power control switch connected thereto by a conductor l3. The terminal l4 of the switch 12 is connected to a conductor iii of a time control device I! by a conductor IS. The conductor IGis connected to a contact l8 of a double throw switch l9. The switch l9 and the time control device l1 form the subject matter of the present invention, the receiver unit 5, power supply circuit 6 and hand volume and power control switch H are shown to indicate how the present invention is electrically connected in a radio of a conventional construction.

When the movable contact 2| of the double throw switch I9 is in engagement with the contact l8 and the switch 23 is open the electric circuit to the radio receiver unit 5 is rendered inactive or inoperative, consequently the radio receiver is inoperative but still set to the wave length of a selected broadcast station with a selected amount of volume.

A fragmentary portion of the radio receiver cabinet is indicted by the character 26 and includes a portion of the chassis of the radio receiver, as indicated by the character .21, and the front wall of the cabinet or case designated by the character 28. The wall 28 and the portion of the chassis 21 are relatively spaced and are employed for the mounting of the time control device IT. A hollow shaft 29 is journaled in the wall 28 of the cabinet and rotatably supports an indicator shaft 30 to which is secured a movable indicator 3I. The shaft 30 is further journaled in the chassis 21.

An hour hand drive gear 52 on a clock mechanism (not shown) is carried by the hollow shaft 29. The gear 32 is connected to the hollow shaft 29 by an overrunning clutch 33. The clock mechanism heretofore referred to may be of the spring driven type or of the electrical operated type.

It is to be understood that the gear 32 makes one complete revolution in twelve hours by the clock mechanism and is located within th'e cabinet of the radio receiver.

A dial plate 34 is secured to the hollow shaft 29 and is arranged exteriorly of the radio receiver cabinet and has applied to its front face a scale 35 designating the hours of the day with each hour divided in quarters of 15 minutes each. The indicator 3| is movable over the scale 35 by the clock mechanism (not shown). The overrunning clutch mechanism permits adjustment of the dial plate 34 relative to the gear 32 of the clock mechanism.

A fixed pointer 36 for the scale of the dial plate is carried by the cabinet of the radio receiver. The dial plate 34 has a substantially conical shaped peripheral flange 31.

The switch 23 of the time control device ll further includes a contact carrying member 31' to which the contact 25 is secured to and insulated from, as shown at 38. The member 31' is mounted on the chassis 21 of the radio receiver for a limited vertical sliding movement by fasteners 39 operating in slots 40 provided in said member 31'. The lower end portion of the member 31 is provided with an offset extension 4| while the upper end is provided with a right angularly disposed extension 42 provided with a beveled'cutaway portion 43 presenting a sharp edge 44 to ride the periphery of a cam 45.

The cam is secured on the shaft 30 by a set screw 46. The extension 42 of the member 31 coincides with the fixed pointer 36.

A coil spring 41 surrounds the shaft 30 and bears against the hub of the overrunning clutch 33 and against the hub of the cam 45 to provide a drive connection between the gear 32 and the cam and one that will permit manual relative rotation of the cam 45 with respect to the gear 32 of the clock mechanism.

The cam 45 has a high face A and a low face B. The low face B governs the length of time that the switch 23 of the time control device will be in circuit closing position and the high face A of said cam governs the length of time that the switch 23 will be in circuit breaking position.

A manually operated dial plate setting shaft 48 is slidably and rotatably mounted in the wall 28 and the chassis 21 of the radio receiver and is spring influenced in one direction by a coil spring 49. A cone shaped element 50 is secured on the shaft 48 and forms a seat for one end of the spring 49 while the opposite end of the spring seats against the wall 28 of the cabinet of the radio receiver. The shaft 48 is provided with a finger piece adjacent the cone shaped element 50. A collar 52 is secured to the shaft 48 and a bell crank lever 53, pivoted as shown at 54, has constant contact therewith. The bell crank lever 53 underlies the extension 4| of the member 31' of the switch 23 of the time control device [1. By shoving inwardly on the shaft 48 against the action of the spring 49 the extension 42 will be disengaged from the cam 45 and the cone shaped element 50 brought into frictional engagement with the flange 31 of the dial plate so that by rotating the shaft 48 in the proper direction the scale 35 may be adjusted relative to the fixed pointer 36 so that said scale when considered in conjunction with the pointer 36 can be made to read properly relative to the time of the day.

The hub of the movable pointer 3| is equipped with a finger piece 55 so that a person may readily move said pointer 3| over the scale 35 to a selected time in which a broadcast is to be heard.

The adjustment of the pointer 3| over the scale 35 as specified also adjusts the cam 45 relative to the gear 32 of the clock mechanism, the spring drive 41 permitting said relative manual rotation of the cam 45 relative to the gear 32.

It is to be understood that when the extension 42 of the member 31' of the switch 23 is upon the high face A of the cam the switch 23 will be in circuit breaking position and in order for the circuit controlled by said switch 23 to be closed the extension 42 must engage with the low face 13 of the cam. Also, it is to be understood that the switch 23 is in circuit breaking position whenever the dial 34 is rotated by the finger piece 5| owing to the fact that the shaft must be moved endwise in order to bring the cone-shaped element into engagement with the flange 31 of the dial plate 34. This endwise movement of the shaft 43 engages the extension 4| and moves the extension 42 off of the cam as well as keeping the bridge 25 spaced from the contact 22 of the switch 23.

The member 31' is provided with a substantially ring-like portion 60 to freely receive the shaft 3|] so that the member 31 may be free to slide vertically in either direction.

In operation, the time control device I! is ad justed to give the proper time of the day and the person desiring a particular radio broadcast program, tunes the radio receiver as usual to the broadcasting station-with the switch element 2| of the switch IS in engagement with the contact l3 so that the radio receiver through the adjustment of the volume control switch may be regulated as to volume and the radio receiver in operation of reception to the broadcast station then sending out a program and after the accomplishment of the tuning of the radio receiver the person places the contact 2| into engagement with the contact 20 rendering the circuit of the radio receiver unit '5 inactive or inoperative and conse quently the radio receiver inoperative as to sound. The pointer 3| is then moved over the scale 35 to the hour or time of the selected broadcast program. When the time of the said broadcast program arrives, the high face A of the cam 45 is such that the extension 42 may drop on the low face B and permit the member 37' to gravitate and thereby close the switch 23 to render the radio receiver active and consequently the radio receiver operative to the reception of the selected broadcast program.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a switch operating device, a rotatably supported shaft, a sleeve journaled on the shaft, a dial bearing indicia secured to said sleeve, a fixed indicator for said dial, a switch operating cam secured to said shaft, an overrunning clutch secured to said sleeve, a gear driven by a clock mechanism secured to the clutch for rotating the dial in one direction relative to said indicator, a coil spring engaging the clutch and the cam for rotating the latter with the dial, and a hand operated indicator associated with the dial and secured to the shaft whereby the cam may be manually rotated relative to the dial and the clutch.

2. In a switch operating device, a rotatably supported shaft, a sleeve journaled on the shaft, a dial bearing indicia secured to said sleeve, a fixed indicator for said dial, a switch operating cam secured to said shaft, an overrunning clutch secured to said sleeve, a gear driven by a clock mechanism secured to the clutch for rotating the dial in one direction relative to said indicator, a coil spring engaging the clutch and the cam for rotating the latter with the dial, a hand operated indicator associated with the dial and secured to the shaft whereby the cam may be manually rotated relative to the dial and the clutch, a switch operating shaft located adjacent th dial, and a spring influenced finger piece secured to the latter-named shaft and manually movable to engage the dial for the rotation thereof relative to either of said indicators.

. LEO V. SMITH. 

